Author: Barry Kaufman
| Photographer: Anne Caufmann

Many of you out there reading this may have your financial houses in order. For others, your financial house may resemble something out of the film, Animal House. It could be, even if your house is seemingly in order, you may not have as good a grasp on your wealth as you think.

“We call it naïve diversification sometimes. People think if I have five different guys handling my portfolio, I’m diversified,” said John Chiacchiero, managing director of Oak Advisors. “The reality is, those five guys don’t talk to each other, so instead of being more diversified you’re less in a lot of cases. It’s better if you have someone who’s a fiduciary to you to act in your best interests who can tell you exactly how it needs to be.”

Acting in your best interest is the driving principle behind Oak Advisors. As a fee-only investment advisory firm, they are bound not just by law, but by their own company ethos to put your financial well-being first, whether you’re planning for retirement, amassing a portfolio or just getting your financial house in order.

“We have a fiduciary duty to clients, which is different from other parts of the industry,” Chiacchiero said. “When people engage our services, we act in their best interests… we don’t sell insurance, we don’t sell products and we don’t earn commissions.”

In short, it’s about putting your wealth first, even if that means taking on less of your business. “Say a client has an investment elsewhere that has a guaranteed rate or there are surrender charges to have us manage it… If it makes sense for them to keep something elsewhere and just give us part of their portfolio to manage, that’s what we disclose to them,” said managing director Michelle Myhre. “Our obligation is to the client.”

From there your investments are in the capable hands of a team of investment geniuses who have been working together since 1997. Their proven strategies can be custom tailored to any financial situation or comfort zone and produce results. “It comes down to a client’s risk tolerance, time horizon and need for income. Those are the three main factors,” Chiacchiero said.

Beyond helping their own clients, Oak Advisors takes great pride in helping area students begin their careers in financial management through their Scholarship of Excellence program. Now in its tenth year, this merit-based scholarship recently expanded to benefit two recipients this year for the first time.

“We felt we wanted to give back to the community but also encourage kids to pursue careers in this field,” Chiacchiero said.

For Myhre, who benefited from a similar scholarship in college, this scholarship is a great way to pay it forward. “Our hope is that they’ll give it back in this area in the future,” she said.

After all, with their clients’ best interests at heart, planning for the future is what Oak Advisors does best.

For more information, visit oakadvisors.net or call (843)757-9338.

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In September of 2006, Celebrate Hilton Head (CH2) burst onto the scene with a fresh perspective on Hilton Head Island, Bluffton and the surrounding Low Country. At the helm was a team of young women (all under 30!) with no experience whatsoever in the publishing industry. The first year they made up the rules as they went along. CH2 (and CB2 – Celebrate Bluffton and Beyond), has evolved into a well-respected publication with over 150 advertisers and a distribution to over 47,000 locals and visitors each month.

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